Framing the playoff picture

I have come to announce the end of the college football season. It's about time, right? The Fiesta Bowl in overtime? Boring. Vince Young leading the Longhorns to the upset of the decade? Snoozer. I need some excitement, some action and dare I say -- some postseason Peyton Manning -- in my life.\nFor a selection as hot as two Carolina Panther cheerleaders in a bar bathroom, I present to you my NFL Playoff picks. \nWashington at Seattle: The Seahawks are 8-0 this season at Qwest Field and 24-10 since the stadium opened in 2002. This game will consist of frustrating and futile attempts to run Clinton Portis by the Redskins mixed with quick explosive strikes from quarterback Matt Hasselbeck displaying one of the truest forms of the West Coast offense. \nCarolina at Chicago: It was great to see Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher win the AP Defensive Player of the Year award. He is no longer officially the most overrated player in football. That honor in the last three weeks goes to Bears quarterback Rex Grossman. e regular season. It's been a nice ride, Chi-town ... and at least you'll have more time to savor that White Sox Championship. \nNew England at Denver: The matchup is always the same: Pats' head coach Bill Belichick versus the opposing quarterback. The result is always the same: a Belichick backhand bitch-slap, complete with all three Super Bowl rings on his fingers, across the quarterback's face. Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan will need to find a scheme that will duplicate his team's success posting a win over the Pats in the regular season. But Shanahan has not won a postseason game since John Elway retired, and it doesn't take a NASA nerd to see that Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer is no Elway.\nPittsburgh at Indianapolis: I am not wasting my time with this game. The Colts defense should easily put away injured Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and company. If not, they are the most pathetic team I've seen in the postseason since that Manning guy put up 49 touchdowns in a single season only to lose to the Patriots ... again. Hmmm ... I may have just lost some readers. \nCarolina at Seattle: I have never seen a team take on the identity of its coach quite like the Carolina Panthers under coach John Fox. When the game is a grind, they are the first ones on the dance floor. And yet, I'm rolling the dice that a Seahawk squad with home field advantage and the NFC's best running back in Shaun Alexander will be enough to soar past the passionate Panthers.\nNew England at Indianapolis: OK, here is where half of the Bloomington campus stops reading. Different setting, same results. The Colts have been the NFL's elite team this season behind quarterback Peyton Manning and an actual real-live defense. But alas, I expect the Colts comedic conclusion to be much like last season: with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Coach Belichick Mann-handling Peyton in the RCA Dome. \nSeattle vs. New England: I know what I'm asking from the Seahawks is something that they have not shown ... well ... ever. I am asking for consistency. They will win this game if they can play smart, perfect football. It'll be nice to see the Patriots' run come to an end, considering they've been running over the Colts to no end (and cue students tossing newspaper to the ground).